Multi-core systems are adopted quickly in the automotive domain, Proof of concepts have been implemented for power train, body and chassis, involving hard real-time constraints. However, depending on the degree of integration, it can be costly, especially in those cases where existing single-core software has to be migrated over. Furthermore, there seems to be a high level of uncertainty, whether a found solution, with regards to partitioning, mapping and orchestration of software is close to an optimum solution. Some integrated solutions demonstrate considerably less performance, for instance due to communication overhead compared to execution on single-core systems.
This paper discusses a methodology, as to how to effectively and efficiently investigate the software architecture design space for multi-core software development. The methodology will be presented in depth and with quantitative results from different solutions for the integration of three single-core controllers, a Hybrid Control Unit (HCU), Motor Control Unit (MCU) and Low DC-DC Converter (LDC), onto an AURIX triple-core micro-controller from Infineon.
The key of the methodology is an abstraction of both the hardware and software, to conduct the design exploration space regarding partitioning, mapping and orchestration of the software architecture efficiently. All results are simulated and optimized by TA Simulator/Optimizer.